A lot can go into a living history impression. Expenses can be high enough just to get your uniforms, weapons, boots, etc looking spot on. There are lots of reenactors that go to great lengths to get the exact color thread, or buy that extra little trinket that makes their impression stand out.
And there’s always the ones that want to do even more!
I first started getting interested in the clerk side of reenacting right after I decided that I wanted to go further than just putting together uniform. I wanted to do more. If I got “captured”, I thought I wanted my captor to pull things out of my pockets that a real German soldier might have carried on his person. I bought a Soldbuch and other “pocket trash” that might have been common to carry by the every day soldier. From there, it has progressed into award documents, promotion papers, leave and transfer documents, and every other little thing I can sink my claws into!
I bought a 1930’s Torpedo brand German typewriter so that I can fill out documents in the most authentic way possible. I even bought some fountain and dip pens to try to teach myself 1930’s-40’s German script. It’s been fun learning!
Our talented unit tailor has also been able to replicate period type Soldbuch wallets, which were commonly carried by the German soldier. Not only would it store the Soldbuch, but also money, pictures, orders of transfer and leave and whatever else the soldat would stuff in them. Always carried in a tunic pocket. If you ask, I’m sure Obergefreiter von Lubin can custom make you one too! Send us a message on Facebook!
More to come on being the Kompanie Shreiber in later posts! Thanks for reading!